Tuesday, December 15, 2015

An Advent Litany - "Litany of the Word"


Our oldest girls have sang in our children's choir at church for over 5 years now.  They practice weekly and sing once a month.  It's such a blessing to see them grow more confident in this gift and give their all for Jesus as they sing. They are like little angels singing in a choir.  It's such a joyful noise to hear all the children raising their voices to Our Lord in song.

We were first introduced to this song a couple years ago, and the same day I heard it, I came home and had to google the lyrics.  It's became a favorite ever since.  An Advent Litany, "Litany of the Word", sang by 7 of our 8 young ones....



And, what does "maranatha" mean, you may ask?

**Definition - "An Aramaic expression occurring in St. Paul (I Corinthians 16:22) in the verse "If anyone does not love the Lord, a curse on him. Maran atha." The Christian Fathers understood the term to mean "Our Lord has come." But more probably it means what St. John has at the close of the New Testament, "Come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20)."

**"The Apostle Paul uses the Aramaic word maranatha only in 1 Corinthians 16.22.[1] This use indicates that Greek-speaking Christians borrowed this transliterated word from the early Aramaic-speaking Jewish Christians of Judea and Galilee and made it a part of their own liturgy. Its meaning is complex.[2] If parsed marana tha, it is a request and means “our Lord, come;” but if parsed maran atha, it is a confession and means “our Lord has come.”"